Picture Perfect Moments
by ATTHS
Summary: Mulder and Scully attend a small party at Mrs. Scully's house. (An idea born from an old photo of DD and GA.)


They were not working out of town, or even working on an active case, but in the office catching up on paperwork. Scully mentioned in passing that her mother was having a party and had asked if she would be able to stop by.

"You could head over now. I can finish this up." She gave him a look and he smiled. "I _am_ capable of filing paperwork on my own, you know."

"Mmm-hmm," she answered with a smile of her own, finishing the page she was writing on, and signing the bottom.

"Seriously, I can do this, Scully. You go ahead." He stared at her and she nodded as she set the pen down and stood up.

"Why don't you come with me?" she asked, a look of surprise on her face that he was sure mirrored his own.

"Oh no, that's okay. You go on."

"Mulder," she said, putting on her coat. "That paperwork can wait, and my mother has asked after you." She rolled her eyes as she adjusted her collar, and then stood with her eyebrows raised. "Many times, in fact."

"Scully…"

"Mulder, finish that one I handed you, and let's go." She crossed her arms and he sighed.

"Fine. Far be it from me to say no, to not just one, but two Scully women."

"Smart man," she smirked and he smiled. Adding his signature to the paper, he set it down and stood up, reaching for his coat.

"What kind of party is it? Will there be cake?" he asked, sliding on his coat, and she snorted.

"Knowing my mother and her friends, there will be many different kinds of desserts."

"And you didn't think to lead with that? Come on, let's go." He put his hand on the small of her back as he led her out the door, her laughter ringing in his ears.

* * *

His plate laden with many delicious treats, he sat on the garden wall, away from the large group of women who were gathered in the backyard. It was cool out, but they did not seem to mind, their cheeks pink from weather and the many bottles of wine on the table.

He heard Scully laughing and he watched her speaking to her mother and a few of the other women. He smiled as he picked up a frosted brownie and took a large bite, his eyes closing at the rich chocolate flavor.

"They're all quite taken with you." He heard Scully say and he opened his eyes, finding her standing in front of him with a smile on her face. "Of course, once I told them you have a nasty habit of ditching me, you leave sunflower seeds _everywhere_, and you believe in little green men from outer space, well…" She took a small piece of his brownie and chewed it as she smiled.

"Gr…" he tried to say, his mouth full. She laughed and rolled her eyes.

"Grey. I know, I know. But Mulder, these are Catholic, church going women, do _you_ want to explain that to them? Really?" She looked over at the women and he followed her gaze.

They were all laughing and drinking their wine. Memories of country club parties from his youth suddenly resurfaced, of rich women and their killer cheek pinching fingers. He shuddered and shook his head, swallowing down the bite of brownie.

"That's what I thought," she chuckled as she sat next to him and took another little piece of brownie. "I think I've bought us a few minutes at least, expect I saw my mother carrying around her new camera, which she never has quite gotten the hang of, so… be on the lookout. Oh… also." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small bottle of whiskey. Taking off the cap, she took a drink, and handed it to him. He stared at her and she smiled.

"Why do I get the feeling this isn't the first time you've snuck a bottle of booze from your parents stash?" he asked, as he took a drink and coughed, the liquid burning the back of his throat, and causing his eyes to water.

"Because it's not," she said with a laugh and took the bottle back, taking another drink. "Missy and I got _very_ drunk once when I was about sixteen and we were on the roof up there." She pointed to a flat part of the roof and took another drink. "That's my old room. We used to sneak out at night and drink and smoke-"

"Smoke?!" he asked incredulously, and she looked at him with a smile, nodding her head. "Does your mother know about this?"

"What are gonna do? Tell on me?" Another drink and she stared at him, challenging him with her eyes, though the smile on her lips betrayed her tough expression.

"Maybe. What else did you do?" He took the bottle from her and took a drink, coughing again and she giggled, actually giggled.

"I can't tell you all my secrets, Mulder. Not in one day," she said softly, and he knew they had crossed into somewhat dangerous territory. He cleared his throat and was about to say something when he saw her mother coming toward them.

"Fox, I hope you're enjoying the food," she said. with a twinkle in her eyes, and he nodded. Setting the large plate of food down, he stood up and brushed his hands off, before reaching to clasp her hand.

"Thank you. It's all delicious," he said and she smiled.

"Of course. Oh, since you're both here, let me get a picture of you two," she said, and went to get her camera. Scully sighed as she stood up and slipped the whiskey bottle in her pocket.

"Here we are," Mrs. Scully said with a smile. "I don't get a chance to take pictures often, so… Okay, closer together. Yeah, like that. I'm going to take a couple just in case. I haven't gotten the hang of all the bells and whistles yet. Okay, I think that's good. Have fun you two." With that, she walked away and they sat back down, Scully taking the whiskey from her pocket and opening the cap.

"And she never suspected a thing," Scully said with a wink, as she took another drink. He laughed and offered her half of the remaining brownie. She took it and smiled at him, but he waved off the whiskey she offered in return. One of them needed to be able to drive back and judging by the pinking of her cheeks, he knew it wouldn't be her.

"So tell me more about this sneaking out," he said, taking a bite of a lemon bar. "Pretty ballsy with _your_ father." She laughed and pretended to zip her lips, her eyes dancing. He smiled, as she took one more drink and put the bottle back in her pocket and sighed. She looked at him and smiled.

"Thanks for coming with me," she said softly as just then, the wind blew her hair across her face. Without thinking, he tucked it behind her ear, his thumb stroking her cheek. Her eyes searched his and then dropped to his lips, before coming back to his eyes.

Moving his hand, he sat back and cleared his throat. "Well, someone needs to make sure you get home safely." She looked down and smiled, then looked at him again. He nodded with a smile of his own, the moment between them pulled away with the wind.

* * *

A month later, he was at her apartment, going over a case. She asked him to grab a blanket from the closet in her room, the evening becoming chilly. He generally stayed out of her bedroom, it feeling like her private domain, but he did as she asked.

As he was walking out, something caught his eye. In a small frame, he saw a picture of them he had never seen before. They did not have many, if any really, and he was drawn to it like a moth to a flame. Picking it up, he grinned as he realized it was the one Mrs. Scully had taken.

It was a great picture. He was wearing his suit from that day, and had his arm around her shoulders. She had an almost secretive smile on her face, no doubt thinking of the whiskey in her pocket, sneaking out with Missy, or laughing at her mother's lack of technological knowledge. Whatever the reason, it amplified her already beautiful smile. He stared at it, then set it down, grabbing the blanket and leaving the room.

No doubt her mother gave it to her framed, and yet, she kept it so, and left it out where she could see it. He smiled at the thought and handed her the blanket, saying nothing about it as they continued to discuss the case.

* * *

Scully shut the door with a sigh. They wrapped up the case and Mulder took the files with him. Intent on taking a bath and going to bed, she shut off the lights and made her way to the bathroom. The temperature just right, she let the tub fill and went to her room to undress.

As she did, her eyes landed on the picture her mother had brought over, her sly smile saying more than words could. It was not until her mother left though, that Scully found the other two pictures wrapped in tissue. She understood why her mother would not have framed them, but wanted her to have them nonetheless.

They were from the same day, but when neither of them were looking or knew she was taking pictures. In one, they were simply looking at one another, but Scully felt her pulse race as she looked at it. It was innocent, but she felt it to her toes.

The other… she had taken a picture at the exact moment he pushed her hair behind her ear. If the first one made her pulse race, this one made it stop. It was such a Mulder thing to do and yet it was completely unexpected. He was a very touchy person and she had become accustomed to it, but _seeing_ it was another thing in itself.

Her mother could not have captured a better moment, and yet she did not see everything. She did not see how the whiskey made Scully feel bolder, the desire to taste his lips so strong, she nearly fell in, not caring who saw them or where they were. But Mulder saw and he had pulled back, as he cleared his throat and changed the feel of the moment.

Scully opened a dresser drawer and moved aside her sweaters, taking out the pictures, needing to see them again. She smiled as she held them, seeing the care they had for one another, frozen in two perfect pictures. She sighed as she put them back and closed the drawer.

Maybe one day she would put them out, but for now they would stay hidden. Like many other things, it was safer that way.

For now.


End file.
